Early life
Born and raised inCoaching career
North Dakota (1957–1964)
From 1957 to 1959, Brown was head coach of the basketball, wrestling, and track teams at Columbus High School inAfter North Dakota (1964–1972)
Brown left North Dakota in 1964 for various coaching jobs around the country: *1964–1965: Garfield junior high school basketball coach-Berkeley, California. *1965–1966: Palm Springs high school head basketball coach-Palm Springs, California. *1966–1971: Assistant basketball coach,LSU: Early years (1972–1978)
Brown came to"As soon as he was hired he started traveling the state and giving out nets. Wherever there was a basketball goal, he would stop and introduce himself as the new coach at LSU and hand out nets. I had never heard of such a thing and I really looked forward to meeting him after learning how hard he worked, how aggressive he was and how conscious he was of spreading the word about basketball in this state."{{Cite quote, date=April 2014 It was this intensity and focus that helped Brown win over LSU fans, players and recruits.{{Citation needed, date=December 2018 He also developed a reputation for being a powerful and inspirational speaker. These traits helped Brown earn the nickname that stuck with him throughout his tenure at LSU, "The Master Motivator". Brown's hard work began paying off in the 1976–1977 season. Led by the emergence of freshman Durand "Rudy" Macklin, the Tigers finished with a 15–12 record that year. In 1977–1978, LSU was led again by Macklin, then a first-team all-conference selection. The team finished 18–9, and was 12–6 in the Southeastern Conference, including a thrilling 95–94 overtime victory over eventual national champion
Glory years: 1979–1981
In the 1978–1979 season, Brown's Tigers dramatically improved their record, in spite of losing Rudy Macklin to injury. Led by all-conference first team membersDisappointment and investigation: 1982–1985
Like many other teams that reach the Final Four with a senior superstar, Brown's Tigers experienced a decline in the next two years. LSU still had star players in Howard Carter and"The master motivator": 1986–1988
The 1985–1986 season was well on its way to being the most disastrous season yet for Brown and his Tigers. However, he rallied the team and turned the season into what is fondly known to many LSU fans as the greatest season in the school's basketball history. The Tigers overcame several obstacles to reach their third-ever Final Four, the second under Brown. Before the season began, Jerry "Ice" Reynolds went pro early. Incoming freshman Tito Horford was kicked off the team two months into the season. Starting center Zoran Jovanovich injured his knee in December. Nikita Wilson was academically ineligible after the fall semester. Brown was forced late in the season to move shooting guard Ricky Blanton to starting center. In addition to all these troubles, some LSU players contractedSuperstar era: 1989–1993
Brown reached the Final Four with a talented, veteran team in 1981. He then made it again with a team of mostly overachievers in 1986. Now, he had the opportunity to see what he could do with bona fide superstars. Unfortunately for Brown, these years arguably proved to be the most disappointing of his LSU career. It was during these years that the "Master Motivator" label backfired on him. By the end of the 1992 season, Brown was known as a coach who could get the most out of his least talented teams, but did not get the best results with NBA caliber talent. Chris Jackson, Stanley Roberts and Vernel Singleton came to LSU in 1988–1989 (Roberts was not eligible to play that season.)Mediocrity and the Lester Earl incident: 1994–1997
Brown's final four years at LSU were forgettable. All four seasons ended in losing records. Brown was still occasionally bringing talented players into the program, but the team failed to perform and did not work out due to the loss of numerous star players because of injuries, dismissal from the team, or leaving early for the NBA. In 1993–1994 Brown brought in two moreRetirement from LSU: 1997
After his departure from LSU, Dale Brown kept a low profile in his involvement with LSU athletics. He stayed in Baton Rouge after his retirement and created his own business, Dale Brown Enterprises. Brown has also worked as aDepictions in media
* In 2012, Brown was the subject of the documentary ''Man in the Glass: The Dale Brown Story''. In 2015, ESPN produced a documentary of his time spent with Shaquille O'Neal as his star player at LSU with ''Shaq & Dale''. * Brown has written six books, The Four Hurdles OF Life, Words To Lift Your Spirits, A Collection Of Thoughts On Life, Tiger In A Lions Den and Freak Defense. ''.''Personal life
Brown married Vonnie Ness who taught international folk dancing at Minot State, Utah State and LSU. She was a cheerleader at Minot State and won the Talent and Miss Congeniality awards in the 1958 Miss North Dakota Pageant. They have one daughter, Robyn Brown Prudhomme, and three grandchildren, Christopher , Peyton, and Cameron. Brown had two older sisters: Lorraine Brown Ahmann (1923–2012) and Eleanor Brown Haider (1924–2015).Summary of Brown's 25 years at LSU: 1972–1997
Brown is the only SEC coach to have ever appeared in 15 straight national tournaments and only 11 coaches in NCAA history have made more consecutive NCAA appearances (10). Only the legendary Adolph Rupp of Kentucky has won more games in SEC history. Brown and Rupp are the only SEC coaches that had 17 consecutive non-losing seasons. Only 4 coaches in the SEC have won more conference championships, Adolph Rupp, Joe Hall, Tubby Smith, and Billy Donovan. Only seven coaches in the SEC have led their teams to two Final Fours or more while coaching SEC teams. They are Dale Brown, John Calipari, Billy Donovan, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino, Nolan Richardson, and Adolph Rupp. On nine occasions Brown was selected as the SEC Coach of the Year or Runner-Up. He was twice chosen as the National Coach of the Year. In a 10-year span from 1977–1986, LSU is the only school to finish in the first division of the SEC. He has the distinction of beating Kentucky 18 times more than any coach in the nation. 115 of 160 of his players received their college degrees. He is a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was inducted as an SEC Living Legend. In 2010, the Tiger Rag, the Bible of LSU sports, ranked Brown in the top 5 of the most influential people in LSU athletics history. He was selected by Bleacher Report as one of the 50 greatest basketball coaches in college basketball history. In 1982, Brown coached the West team in the College All-Star game, defeating the Bob Knight-coached East team, 102–68. In 1990, he coached the South team in the National Olympic Festival, winning the gold medal over theAccolades
Legendary coach John Wooden andHead coaching record
{{CBB Yearly Record Start , type = , conference = , postseason = , poll = {{CBB Yearly Record Subhead , name =LSU basketball records
* Most overall wins: 448 * Most SEC wins: 238 (second to Adolph Rupp) * Most wins in a season: 31 * Most consecutive wins in a season: 26 * Most consecutive SEC wins in a season: 17 * Most consecutive non-losing seasons: 17 (SEC record shared withReferences
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